


Danny Phantom: Phantom Planet (the reimagined version)

by Donaji25



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Episode Fix-it, Episode: s03e12-13 Phantom Planet, Gen, Ghost Hunters, Ghost King Danny Fenton, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:13:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29982678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Donaji25/pseuds/Donaji25
Summary: While immersed once again in a battle of wits with Vlad, Danny finds himself being robbed of his victories by the Masaters' Blasters, angry and frustrated he has an accident that leaves him powerless to face the ghosts attacking Amity Park. However, Vlad also caused an extremely dangerous situation that is making the earth the target of a big asteroid that threatens to destroy the planet, Danny and his team work to find the best way to avoid a fatal destiny and regain the lost powers of the ghost boy.
Relationships: Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley & Sam Manson, Danny Fenton/Sam Manson, Jack Fenton/Maddie Fenton
Comments: 8
Kudos: 5





	1. STOLEN VICTORIES

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this for the last couple of weeks, while originally I did like the episode, I’ve also felt that there were some things that could have been handled in a different way, and after reading that this is a general view (some are so unhappy with it that have actually erased it from canon). Now, while this version contains many scenes that remain the same as in the episode, some of them were changed, modified, or twisted so that they match what I would have liked from the episode. I tried to be as impartial as possible, I’m no expert and my native language is not English, but I tried to work some scenes so they made more sense and changed Danny’s plot, I think I kept it simple, it’s the longest I’ve written at the moment, I’ve never made a fic in one go like this one so share your thoughts, I don’t expect a lot from this, and I understand if it’s not what you would have expected, thanks for reading.
> 
> Also thought most of us will like to divorce Danny Phantom from its creator. Danny Phantom belongs to Butch Hartman.

**STOLEN VICTORIES**

The day had started, as usual, Danny, Sam, and Tucker had gone to school, like every other school day, which was in itself a rare phenomenon since they tended to deal with extraordinary scenarios that usually kept them from being to school on time, they had managed to go through lunch without much of an issue until something else happened, in a situation that at this point was more usual than strange they had to skip the last two hours when they were informed by Frostbite (through some weird way of communication that froze some letters on Danny’s book) that Vlad had somehow managed to stole the  _ Infi-map _ again and was on the run, after the amount of time it took them to understand the message and actually act on it (to be fair Danny thought his powers were failing or something so he was freezing certain letters on his English book before Sam took over and deciphered the message) the three of them had managed to take the Specter Speeder and chase him until they were able to retrieve it.

It took some time and a couple of strange portals that took them to locations they hadn’t expected, to manage to get and leave Vlad to sulk over another defeat and get the map back, somehow ending at Saturn which made Danny quite happy on the way back, they had been there for a very short time but somehow the teen had been able to take into the scene and enjoy it to the point of starting giving out random facts about it, while Sam and Tucker just smiled and let him speak his joy out, it wasn’t every day that the wanna be astronaut had the chance to visit space.

It was a bit late by the time they made it back to Fenton Works through the ghost zone and then back to school at least just to pick up their things and manage to get the homework for their missed classes, it was also an agreed decision to keep the map until they could safely go back to the Ghost Zone and return it to Frostbite. The day to day routine was becoming easier to handle, at least ghost battles hadn’t been too hard since Danny’s last power upgrade (the development of his ice core and powers had been a great improvement and almost all their regular foes were unable to deal with it), meaning Danny had become faster at beating them out and had been able to sleep better and also start making his homework.

It also meant that Tucker was being left a bit behind since it seemed like his two best friends had started to be drawn together more often, Danny and Sam shared not only a mutual like for ghost fighting and learning about old and occult stuff (though Sam did it more for the pleasure of knowing and Danny because it had proven useful more than once), while the three of them tended to share these activities, the pair also used to like the same music and to discuss similar movies and series and where the was ground for a good conversation they could go on for hours.

Tucker usually was the one to pull them out of their comfort zone, pointing out new videogames and online information, he was also the one Danny usually reached out to talk about other interests like big cars and motorcycles, sometimes sports, there was also the regular conversation about girls, and every now and then about the newest inventions the Fenton’s made and how they could work on them to make them safer, more effective or deactivate them if the need should arise.

On the other hand, Tucker and Sam were mostly the ones with ideas that could lead to debates, they rarely had an agreement on things, but since the meat vs veggie war they had tried to keep the discussions to the lowest to avoid big disagreements like that time, but it was clear both of them had fun with it and enjoyed doing that, it was also good since Danny was usually the one to point out something that they had overlooked and usually that ended or made him join the conversation. Sam also had this way of thinking that made it possible to get a strategy that the geek and the goth could follow and they were usually the ones to take care of Danny after difficult ghost fights, where Tucker was there to remind him that he was strong and could keep going, Sam was the one to offer some comfort and motivation.

Lately, however, Danny and Sam seemed to find excuses to spend time together, it was not that he wasn’t happy about it, it was about time, but they were still far from making it official; however, the teen wasn’t stressing over it.

Shortly after they were reminded of how ‘ _ normal _ ’ was normal in Amity Park by Danny’s parents, they were just about to turn into the commercial avenue in Amity Park when Danny’s ghost sense went off; it wasn’t hard to pinpoint Technus at an electronics store. If only they had known a vicious plan was in the making the moment the sighting of a ghost was reported. Rolling his eyes but jumping into action Danny ran to an alley and transformed into Danny Phantom.

“Well, look on the bright side. At least I'm not downloading them illegally” said Technus when Danny made it into the store.

“Next register, Cyber-jerk!” said Danny, making the ghost react to a defensive pose in front of him, immediately getting into action and using ecto-kinesis to move some computers to float on huddle into a robotic machine while distracting Danny with some ecto blasts.

“Behold, Ghost child!” he said while pointing in the direction of the machine he just created, “The perfect combination of technology, past AND present!” Danny turned in time to see the machine resembled some sort of transformer made out of electronics and a car “The Car-Puter! It will drive you... to your DOOM!"

Determined to stop Technus and any menace he had created Danny flew directly towards the Car-Puter, not expecting it to launch the engine towards him and knocking him out mid-air, and sending him back to the wall of a nearby building.

“Great. My first car accident and I'm not even driving yet!” The Car-Puter wheeled itself back onto the sidewalk, causing a lot of smoke and shielding Danny behind it, taking the direction towards Sam and Tucker, Danny just cleared the air around him, now upset that this thing was trying to distract him just to go after his friends, flying inside the remaining smoke he fired some ecto-blasts to it and then created snow on the ground which made it difficult for the wheels to move and also started to freeze them before aiming to some wires and effectively stopping it from moving.

“Not so fast, you can’t be in this race without the proper wheels, you’re not even an all-terrain” he claimed to approach the Car-Puter before it was able to reach his friends with anything else, knowing full well they were out of danger now. The Car-Puter was still trying to move but Danny, now knowing the machine will not move forward any more managed to fully froze it before flying towards his two best friends.

“You okay?” he asked looking at his friend’s nod, Sam already reaching the inside of her backpack and throwing him the Fenton Thermos.

Danny turned around, ready to catch both Technus and the Car-Puter, only to find three teenagers running to the place in colorful suits, one of them launching a rope towards the Car-Puter “Yo, I got it Vid!” the first of them said.

Some other young woman ran and threw something at Technus, who uselessly just stood there looking at the new trio as if feeling insulted and allowing them to run around dramatically, it seemed like some actors just making it up as they went.

“Awesome Thrash! Take it Download” The third one pulled out a Thermos with red rims instead of green and activated it, effectively trapping Technus and disarming the Car-Puter from ecto-energy, this took them maybe about 5 seconds, but they had effectively finished the battle.

“Hey!” complained Danny feeling ignored and probably as insulted as Technus.

“Masters' Blasters stop disasters!” the new trio shouted while sharing a high five. People from the surrounding area started to gather near the newcomers.

“Uh, who are those guys?” asked Sam with evident disgust on her face, walking towards Danny with Tucker behind her.

“Yes, they can’t just stroll up here like that and stole the credit! Although those are the coolest jumpsuits I've ever seen!” Danny just glared at Tucker “Uh, except yours, of course. Black is very slimming.”

At that point the girl of the new group seemed to get a message on a hidden earpiece and started to project a hologram from some gadget attached to her wrist, it gave up noise at first, only to clear out and start showing a recorded message with Vlad Masters on it.

“ _ Greetings, citizens _ ”, said Vlad from the screen “ _ I hope you've enjoyed this presentation of Amity Park's newest teen ghost fighting team, Masters' Blasters _ .”

“Masters' Blasters?” The original  _ teen ghost fighting trio _ said confused by the sudden situation.

“ _ As mayor, I provided city funding for this top-notch troop. Equipped with the latest teen technology, they're going to stop ghosts and succeed where Danny Phantom has so obviously failed. _ ” Vlad smiled knowingly to the screen as if conveying a message directly to Danny.

“Teen ghost fighters? “ Sam asked with a disbelieving frown.

“Teen technology?” asked Tucker holding his PDA closer to his chest at that.

“Where Danny Phantom has so obviously failed?” Danny whispered feeling very insulted at the implication, he had won that battle, Vlad was just taking the credit for it!

“ _ My plan is very simple, out with the old and in with the new! And the old should give up now if he knows what's good for him. _ ” Vlad on the screen was obviously turning this in his favor and threatening Danny and his friends.

“If Vlad's funding them, then they're definitely up to something,” Danny said, literally getting vibes that Vlad had some sort of plan under his sleeve.

“Hmm, they can't fight ghosts if there are no ghosts to fight, right?” Sam thought out loud, but her friends didn’t quite catch to her train of thought, although her smile said she had a plan.

“Uh, right,” said Danny

“So you just fight ghosts like crazy,” Sam said getting into a fight stance.

“Yeah, remind everyone in this town how there's no better ghost fighter than Danny Phantom.” Tucker also said turning the screen of his PDA on and straightening his glasses to state he was ready for everything.

“You're right. I'll just show 'em who's boss around here. Buckle up guys, Operation: Danny Phantom Rocks is about to begin!” said Danny squaring up and feeling ready to fight anyone.

And they did, when the first one to attack afterward was Undergrowth the trio fought against it, the situation was not that easy however since at some point Undergrowth attacked Danny, sending thorns at him, getting Danny’s suit damaged, he continued with the fight even when the shreds of the suit made everyone able to see him in his underwear, he still managed to fight him off, using both ectoblast and ice blasts, with the support from Sam and Tucker the halfa managed to freeze the giant ghost and weaken him, just pulling out the thermos from his belt while trying to cover himself a bit; the Masters’ Blasters entered the scene cutting through the many roots and plants in the area with a modified car they only used as lawnmower to get as near as possible to just pull out something similar to a laser directed to Undergrowth and suck him into a containment device.

Danny wasn’t sure if he was more upset about them stealing again his victory or if he was upset about the newspaper making fun of him. He was pretty sure Vlad was paying someone to make the headlines as embarrassing as possible.

Next was Prince Aragon, who had managed to escape his sister somehow and had gone to look for Danny in dragon form, the dragon-like ghost also managed to inflict damage while breathing fire towards the trio, turning part of his suit to ash and making him smoke all over, although Danny always felt he was a bit on disadvantage with fire-core ghosts, he had to be quite ingenious in order to guide him towards the water to contain the fire while his friends catch up with him to catch it, his ice blast was very ineffective against the dragon but a couple of punches and some of the distraction that Sam and Tuck were able to use made the ghost fall for it after a while, they were just catching their breath, while Danny floated a bit separating himself from the dragon after his last punch, that would give Aragon a headache for the following week, only to have the Masters’ Blasters arrive again and use a net to capture him and then contain it. It was so obvious they just had been waiting for the battle to be over to safely approach that it was almost ridiculous.

Injured but grumpy Danny had to let the headlines pass and talk with his friends about the best way to avoid that from happening again, it was unfair that he was the only one getting to fight and get hurt only for the Blasted Mast… whatever, to arrive and steal the attention and on top of that have Vlad obviously influence the media to make him look like a fool just because his jumpsuit was not from a better material (, it wasn’t his fault, he really had no choice, it was made of ectoplasm and originally it hadn’t been intended for the rough use he has giving it, thank you very much).

The last drop on the glass was Vortex, who was terrorizing a trailer park. Danny knew how resourceful he was and how difficult it was to approach him but he had managed to throw an ectoblast to Vortex and distract him. Sam and Tucker’s help shooting from the ground and also some new gadgets they were able to get from the Fentons lab were part of the trick, and even though Danny didn’t really want to cause that much havoc it had been necessary for him to use his Ghostly Wail to get the upper hand on the battle. Noticing how this also drained Danny of power, Vortex, who had started shrinking in size, sent a bolt of lightning to strike him; sensitive to electricity Danny had dropped to the ground, but catching himself in the air he used his Ghostly Wail again and Vortex covered his head while also losing altitude, static sparks cracking around them as Danny ready to punch him and fill the thermos with him flew straight towards the weather ghost, only for the Masters' Blasters to enter the scene on a flying machine and manage to reflect some static back at Vortex who shrank a bit more and then using the same distraction to capture him.

The trio was definitely upset, Tucker was even kicking trash on the street while they tried to get as far away as possible from the ‘ _ Parade _ ’ that seemed to be following them. Sam was unusually quiet, trying not to burst out into a swearing rant, which Danny was pretty sure, if he got to hear it, he will like to have on record to play it at Vlad’s funeral since he was going to turn him into a full ghost for this. The parade was getting closer so they started climbing up the steps to Fenton Works when people start screaming. Tired of dealing with this Danny just shrug it off and kept going, getting a glare from his friends. Sighing and frowning at the request of making sure he was the one taking care of any ghost he turned around and transformed, flying up to see what’s going on.

A huge green balloon in the shape of a ghost was tangled into some wiring and it was making sparks fly and people underneath scream when it starts deflating and falling. Danny is about to fly down to help all those people when the Masters’ Blasters show up and stop it, huffing angrily at them Danny just goes back to his friends, turns back to human, and stomps into the house with them trailing behind.


	2. POWERLESS

The following days even when Danny was sulking around had improved a bit, there had been fewer attacks for some reason, Sam and Tucker found themselves walking down the stairs to the Fenton’s basement where the family was busy tinkering with the portal.

Jazz was sitting by some computers, making sure all of them were correctly displaying the information and cleaning the dust on them, while Danny was busy changing the filter of the portal screwdriver in hand and making sure everything was in place. Their parents were working on the portal that was currently shut down, a dark hole on the wall like the day it all had begun.

“I always knew that Phantom kid was a menace! He has just been in the way of Vlad’s new team on the last couple of attacks, and ending up as an exhibitionist none the less” said Jack from the inside of the portal.

“Well, he was there before they arrived so you can’t say they’re not lacking on their time of response,” said Jazz while arranging a bunch of papers in a more steady form on the desk “I for one am glad there's someone out there protecting us from the moment the real danger shows up”, she caught Danny’s eyes and winked at him, he managed a small smile to her while checking on the wires attached to some of his parents’ inventions.

“Me too. And they're called Masters' Blasters. Vladdie's team has style, guts, acne and they're humans, which accounts for how they take some time to arrive, Phantom seems to just pop out of thin air, plus they gave me this zippity-keen-o poster.” He said pulling a rolled-up poster from one of the tables to show it to his daughter, the image of the Masters’ Blasters with the inscription  _ “To the old guy in the orange suit. Stop bothering us!!!" _

Tucker walked up to Jazz who was now dumping some unused papers and candy wrappers into the trash “Why are your folks messing with the Fenton Portal?” he asked while taking the trash bin and following her while she cleaned.

“Dad's breaking it down to stage one so he can update the software. He says this way, He'll be able to catch ghosts and download songs faster” she said smiling and dusting her hands while looking back at her parents.

“Isn't science awesome?”

“It kinda looks the same way it did when you first got your ghost powers, Danny”, said Sam who had approached Danny and was holding some screws for him while he set them back into place. A screeching noise could be heard coming from the screw he was working on and the screwdriver to drop from his hand, making Danny stop to pick it up and turn to his friends; he seemed to still be really upset.

“Can we change the subject, please? Vlad has been causing me nothing but problems, lately. Ghost powers are starting to feel more like a nuisance than a vantage” he stated shaking his hands to try and keep them from trembling due to how upset he was.

At that point, Jack and Maddie declared it had been all for the day, so they started to pick everything up and walk upstairs.

“It almost feels useless to have a ghost portal down here, with Vlad and his minions out there taking all the attention it could stay off, and then all the activity will come from Vlad’s house. It’s infuriating how they are being sent to take the credit! Not to mention how the media keeps showering them with all those compliments and making  _ me _ …  _ us _ , look like fools that are just wasting time until the  _ real heroes _ show up! Danny had spoken a bit louder than usual, all his bad mood coming out with that while he went and sat down over a box in a corner, placing his head on his hands and running them through his hair.

“Danny, what are you thinking?” asked Jazz looking at him worriedly.

“I think I need a good reason to keep up this charade! I’m a minute away from letting Vlad’s puppets do the job and let chaos reign” he said lifting a finger to the air menacingly.

“Danny, think of all the good you've done and our doing. If you stop now…” Sam started to say, but Tucker interrupted her starting his own comment “You’re the main target of hundreds of evil ghosts, they’re mostly coming here for you… Oh, well that’s not a good one; let me think about something else.”

Upstairs they could hear the bell ringing, back in the living room Maddie and Jack answer it. Outside were the Masters' Blasters, looking serious. In the basement Jazz looks up at the group of friends and starts walking upstairs, Tucker and Sam follow after hearing Jack’s voice say “Hey, Masters' Blasters, remember me? The old orange guy, I…” Danny stayed behind, too angry to face those guys, breathing to calm down and control his temper, feeling still on edge he turned towards the portal, where there were still some things left inside.

Jazz had already rushed into the kitchen, in time to see the Masters' Blasters trap Maddie and Jack in a net against the wall.

Vid, the girl in the Master’s Blasters team said “Jack and Madeline Fenton, our readings indicate an ectoplasmic entity on the premises.”

“By order of the mayor, you're both under arrest for harboring a ghost,” said Download, the one that had shot the net at the Fentons.

Danny had stepped into the portal, on high alert trying to hear if he was needed upstairs, thought by the sound of it it wasn’t really a party, a wave of anger rolled through him. There seem to be some voices in the kitchen, maybe they were looking for something incriminating. Danny tried to control himself, taking deep breaths, he walked until his back hit the limit wall of the portal and breathed, when his emotions got the best of him, his most ghostly instincts were on the surface, he needed to calm down.

Sam and Tucker’s voice could be heard from the top of the stairs, he walked a bit to make sure he could see them if they came down. Tripping over a screw left on the floor Danny stumbled and almost fell, his hand landing over a familiar pad on the portal’s side. Suddenly a big electric noise filled the place, wheezing for a moment and then lighting up the portal, Danny had just a second to understand what was happening… and then silence. From the kitchen Sam and Tucker ran down the stairs, all the lights had blacked out at Fenton Works, but they managed to make their way to the portal in time to see Danny crawl out of it before another sound indicated something else was going to happen.

Both teens ran to approach their friend, took Danny from the armpits, and pulled him away from the portal in a hurry, the sound from inside the portal intensified and a buffer noise could be heard before it exploded, filling the room with smoke and the smell of burnt wires and something else. Both Sam and Tucker maneuvered Danny to a sitting position against a wall; he seemed dizzy and kept twitching involuntarily.

“Danny. Danny, can you hear me?” Sam urged him while looking at him really worried.

“What were you doing man?” asked Tucker looking back at the portal and then to the stairs where Jazz was coming while the Master’s Blasters walked behind her. Jazz rushed towards her brother, there was just enough light in the room to see them and the door to the stairs cast a bit more illumination. The other trio seemed uninterested in the situation, minding their own business.

“Greetings, dudes. We're here to, like, police the premises for signs of any spectral activity” said Vid pulling out a scanner and turning it on.

“Just go about your business. We're not even here.” Download who also had a scanner with him started moving to a different part of the room.

Their scanning didn’t show up any results, even when Thrash walked up to them and scanned Sam, Danny, and Tucker. “Place is clean. No ectos”

Download took Tucker’s hat and signed it, Tucker scowled at him pulling the hat from the other teen’s grasp “There you go, dude. And remember, your mayor, who watches constantly, loves you.” Tucker felt angry, he could swear that line said more about Vlad than what this Download guy understood.

Jazz guided the unwelcome trio upstairs, just as soon as they were out she ran back to the basement, Sam and Tucker had made a quick check-up on Danny, he was still unconscious but there didn’t seem to be any injury on him, all but a white stripe on his hair that started at the base of his hairline on his nape and surrounded his head.

The three teenagers looked at each other worried, until Danny seemed to react, groaning a little and flexing his fingers on the floor, Danny’s blue eyes opened up to his friends, only his eyes were red as if irritated, he blinked and pressed them together. “Wha- what happened?”

The other three shared a look again “Why were you in the portal Danny? There was some sort of blackout, and even though those… well, let’s just say you didn't register on the Blasters' scanners.”

“What?” said Danny sitting up but almost at the same time he placed a hand to his forehead. “I’m going to have an awful headache all day.” Danny stood up with the help of Tucker “I need to check something”, he said stepping a bit to the side of his friend “… Going ghost” he said, but nothing happened.

“Going ghost!” he tried again, but again nothing happened. Danny looked up to his friends and sighed “This can’t be happening… I can’t feel it, my powers are gone” he said placing a hand on his chest, where he was usually able to feel the slight buzz of his ice core.

Jazz covered her mouth with a hand, Sam seemed about to start crying.

“Come on dude,” said Tucker trying to sound calm but failing “you’re probably tired, you were just electrocuted again and I’m sure, that ironically, that drains energy. Maybe they’ll start working again if we give it some time?” he sounded uneasy as if he was trying to convince himself that was the situation. Danny wasn’t completely sure but nodded to try and dissipate the situation.

“Yeah, it’s like Tuck said, “said Sam discretely wiping a tear from her eye “and if it takes a bit don’t worry, I’m sure by now we can handle this, we’ve got enough practice”

“Totally, you can reconnect with your human abilities too, you rely a lot on your powers, I bet you’ll be fine after a short break, you also need to recover,” Jazz said sounding as cheerful as always.

“I could actually use a glass of water,” Danny said lifting a hand to rub at his neck only to hiss in pain. Sam reached to him and turned him around. “Ookay, you need to see this Jazz, Tucker…”

“What is it?” asked Danny suddenly distressed.

“You have marks, you got burned,” said Jazz not quite touching the red skin on his neck but looking a bit down his shirt.

“They look cool though,” Tucker said snapping a picture with his PDA to show Danny, “like a lightning”, Danny took the PDA from him and looked at the marks on his skin and the very noticeable change of color of his hair that had been captured on the photo.

They walked towards the kitchen and Danny downed two full glasses of water as soon as he reached the fresh liquid. “I don’t know if this is important, but I feel suddenly cold”

“See, that’s good,” said Jazz, “you said your core made you cold, maybe it’s already reactivating” Danny just shrugged, “want to go get our parents out of jail? Sam and Tucker can come too”

“Actually we need to go, is almost time for supper,” said Tucker apologetically. Sam seemed unsure but also nodded, she approached Danny and hugged him before waving them goodbye.

After deciding to use Jazz’s car to visit the police station (really after not finding anything on the house it was a mystery why the Masters’ Blasters still took the Fentons), Danny was still not feeling fine.

“Thanks for getting us out of jail, kids. I knew there must have been some sort of mistake” said Maddie, walking outside of city hall. “They didn’t even ask for a statement or something like that”

“I was never worried. I was this close to tunneling us out of there with my trusty ice cream spoon, but then they served ice cream, so, well... you know.” Jack seemed to be in a good mood despite the situation they had been involved in.

“By the way Danny, I think it's cute what you've done to your hair.” Maddie ran a hand over Danny’s head with a smile but her expression turned worried a second later “Danny, sweetie, are you feeling okay? You’re very warm.”

Jazz and Danny shared a look. “I’m fine” he managed to say “I just kinda got a bit of a shock with the portal”

“That’s why the lights went out, right?” said Jack suddenly worried, Maddie scowled at him and then looked back at Danny “Well, it seems to have caused you a bit of a fever, let’s go home, you need to rest”

“And I need to check the portal, there’s a song I really want to download, the sooner we fix it, the better,” said Jack rushing towards Jazz’s car, Danny allowed his mother to guide him with a hand on his back, although it hurt a little, he was sure his skin had been burn, but seeing how it was only just uncomfortable unless touched it didn’t seem like a big deal.

He was feeling weak so on the way home he contented himself with looking out of the window, on their way home they saw Valerie taking care of a big ghost, she was shooting at it from her board, the Masters’ Blasters choose that moment to set up a strange device on the floor and the moved far from it when the ghost was over it and Valerie was getting ready to capture it they turned it on and trapped the ghost. Danny felt worse by the wave of anger that overcame him and had to take deep breaths to avoid nausea he felt after Valerie had to go through.

Danny didn’t go to school the following day, he got up and managed to see the last of a ghost battle on the street from his window, he was surprisingly on time, but his mother sent him back to bed after finding him paler than usual and slightly trembling, he was just happy she thought it had to do with the shock he got from the portal and it may be it, in part, but he felt it similar to how he had felt after the whole Vortex situation as if his temper was linked to it.

The next day, while arriving at school they had heard a very familiar calling and were faced with Young Blood with a new pirate ship, Danny’s reaction was to respond with his usual puns, getting into position but feeling void when trying to pull his ghost powers, even Young Blood looked disappointed at that and Danny felt so powerless he didn’t even complain when Sam and Tucker pulled him out of danger. It took the Masters’ Blasters some time to take care of him, a good part of the school got damaged and Danny was pretty sure Vlad had had to show up in order to take care of it.

Things didn’t get easier, a couple of days later, followed by Johnny 13, Spectra and Shadow took it personally to have a tour through the school and try to prevent the repairs to be completed and cause more chaos while there. Danny, who had to choose to use the specter deflector, hadn’t felt a thing from it and he had also taken a small ecto-gun with him, he hadn’t told Sam and Tucker, so he did manage to be part of the battle, from far away, but he was proud to say he had been able to at least give them some trouble to put a stop to the damage they were trying to make, he kept himself as far as possible from the Masters’ Blasters and trying to catch a glimpse from Vlad, the trio was bad, they were trained to do some parkour and they knew how to use the weapons, but they were still slow or not good on considering the effects or reactions that some ghosts could produce or show and even though they tried to mask it, they were afraid. He did saw Vlad at one point, though he turned himself invisible for the rest of the time and it was pretty obvious he was working extra time to have his “teenager ghost fighters” up to the task and the image he had made up for them to the media.

Sam and Tucker had given him an earful afterward, asking him to avoid possibly getting injured as if his powers were weak he might take longer to heal (Danny was sure they had only said that to avoid mentioning that as a human he was fragile), although Sam had made a comment about wanting to see be there next time to help and Tucker had said something about her missing seeing him in action to which she blushed and chased after him for a good couple of minutes. They were probably not going to say something until he confirmed out loud he no longer had powers, but his friends missed hunting ghosts with him, judging by how Tucker discreetly put the thermos inside his schoolbag afterward.

Danny felt a little more at ease after that, at least about letting Sam and Tucker about where he was going, and with them following him, some of the following attacks didn’t really require too much experience. He was still very obviously recovering from the electric shock, like any human being will be after an experience like that, his skin had been tender for some time but the burning hadn’t been too bad and the scars (Lichtenberg Figures, he found out) were not so noticeable as his hair at least (Dash had made sure everyone knew about his skunk hairstyle on the first day), and he had admitted, at least to himself, that he no longer had ghost powers; at least, as Jazz had said, he was working his human skills this time and he had managed with some of his parent’s weapons.

While the following ghost to visit the school were not really challenging, the trio had managed to locate them (Tucker), distract them (Sam) and catch them (Danny), usually by the time the Masters’ Blasters showed up they had nothing to fight. Only Valerie would somehow walk in on them after catching a ghost, they had managed to find silly excuses, but she suspected something.

Valerie was not the only one though, but at least not everything was bad, at least Mr. Lancer seemed surprised in the best way when Danny managed to deliver his homework on time and complete, also his parents seemed confused about him asking about how their new weapons worked and sometimes suggesting improvements. It was when there were significant attacks that Danny felt frustrated at what he had lost; a week after the accident, he told Sam and Tucker and his amazing friends told him they were still up to hunt ghost even if they had to do it old style.

Other than keeping an eye out for ghosts, the trio had started spending time doing some of the things they liked, Tucker had taken him to a plaza dedicated entirely to comic books and gadgets, they had spent a good couple of hours and possibly a couple of hundred dollars between the two of them. Afterward, Sam had insisted on the three of them going book shopping, she was insisting on needing some good gothic stories to read, it sounded boring at first, but the three of them found more than books, one moment they were looking at dark covered books (Sam refused to buy any book with leather on the cover), and the next they were checking on the various plants and rituals some people made to keep from bad energies (much to Tucker’s disgust Danny was actually interested on the plants the person said were good to get rid of ghosts, though Sam managed to keep him from buying since she had those at her greenhouse). The night had ended with Tucker going back home before them and Danny and Sam watching a movie at her house.

It was one afternoon after they had managed to finish another school project, that they were watching TV, eating lots of junk food at Sam’s living room, she was leaning just so on Danny’s shoulder while eating popcorn from the bucket he had on his lap, Tucker grabbing handfuls from it while the announcements played.

There was a short news review spot, and suddenly Lance Thunder was on the screen “And it's been another busy day for Mayor Master's Masters' Blasters, who are now charging a small fee to cover their growing expenses.”

Some footage from the Box Ghost being trapped was featured; Download approached a man on the screen to ask for the money after capturing it, to then cut to Vlad giving a statement about it “ _ Yes, quality ghost fighting is getting very expensive these days. Time, equipment, storage, it all adds up. And since that cowardly Danny Phantom disappeared, not that he ever was helpful, there's no one else in town to assist us _ .” Vlad’s statement was cut to different footage, this time to Valerie fighting off Desire, only to have Thrash run into the scene and cover most of the battle from the camera, then similar recordings of Skulker and the Lunch Lady in a similar fashion. “ _ Oh there are certainly a few crackpots out there, who think they have what it takes, but they only get in our way. It seems that when it comes to fighting ghosts we're the only game in town. And I do so love games _ ” Vlad choose that moment to laugh hysterically “ _ I-I mean...have a nice day. _ ”

Danny tried, he really did, to stay put and allow the spot to be over and focus on his life, but he couldn’t, it wasn’t just Vlad making more money out of ghost attacks, as if he needed it, even if justified there was no real evidence that they were using the money to pay for the repair of the damage caused by a ghost, not even of that team being careful enough to avoid property damage.

This whole situation just made him feel more angry and useless, at least he didn’t abuse people, at least he tried to take quick care of the battles to cause as little damage as possible, at least he … well it wasn’t something people was supposed to know, but even if they knew he couldn’t feel well with the idea of them giving him money for something that he was doing to keep them safe, it was common sense! …

“Another day of normalcy, right?” said Tucker sarcastically, “at least for Vlad being money and power-hungry is an everyday thing. Kinda explains what ghosts feel instead of hunger” Danny couldn’t stand it, he transferred the popcorn from his lap to Tucker’s and stood up, making Sam fall down on the side of the couch where he had been sitting while he stormed out.

“Danny wait!” said Sam getting up and running behind him.

“Come back, Danny! You can eat whatever you want, it’s the best part of being half-human!” said Tucker from the living room, looking at them from the couch with a corn dog in hand.

Sam caught up to him a moment later, watching him pace back and forth on the street side while running his hands through his hair.

“Danny, come on, you know people will get mad about this and complain to Vlad, he’s the Mayor, he should be able to pay for social services, even if ghost are included since they’re his team, they’ll stop eventually,” said Sam placing a hand on his arm to stop him. He looked up at her, his gaze full of anger and frustration.

“Is not only Vlad that upsets me; the Masters’ Blasters, the way they stole the credit and how they’re taking advantage of it is one thing. The ghosts are still coming and they’re causing more trouble now that… and I know we’re trying, I’m trying, but I feel useless, it’s like sitting on the sidelines, just watching them blow up what I… what we’ve done. When I had ghost powers I could make a difference, I had the chance to do better, and now… agh” Danny sat down on the steps to Sam’s house, supporting his head on his hands.

“Danny you can’t just let the good you did be forgotten and I understand that nobody wants to take that from you, I know you’re frustrated about losing your powers, they were an important part of you, but you’ve got to remember that there’s more to life than that” Sam sat next to him and placed a hand on his arm “Also you know we’re here to help you with anything, I’m here to help you. It’s nothing we haven’t deal with, school, puberty, even ghost hunting using your parent’s inventions. Ghost powers or not, you know you can count on me, right?” she said moving her hand to take his and squeezing it lightly.

He looked at her, for a few seconds that’s all he did, his blue gaze focused on hers, and Sam could feel there was some debate inside him as if he was preparing to say something but also dealing with other things that she couldn’t decipher.

“I know,” he said finally, turning away, probably choosing to stay on the current conversation, but she knew he had been about to change the subject, he then stood up again and brushed his hands on his pants “Is just, since the accident… I’ve been feeling weak, it wasn’t only that first day, I was in pain the whole week, I know I’m healing, but there’s also this feeling…” he placed a hand near his chest “As if there’s something else that needs to happen, something I won’t be able to stop, but at the same time I don’t want to stop it. You know how I’ve learned my lesson about being a bully, since then it’s been always me trying to stop ghosts from taking advantage of his powers on the city and its people, what Vlad is doing… I just can’t let it happen, I have to act, but when I feel like this…” He let his head hang with his slumped shoulders and sighed.

“Hey, don’t torture yourself, once you recover you’ll be doing more to catch ghosts, and about how you’re feeling if you want anonymity we could call a private doctor, my parents won’t notice or ask about paying for a doctor’s checkup, we can figure out how you’re doing after the accident without risking any of our parents knowing too much about this, I’m sure Jazz can and will fake being the adult if it’s needed, we just…” Danny stopped her with one hand on her shoulder, this time with a smile on his face.

“Don’t worry Sam, I’ve been feeling better, I don’t need a doctor, but thank you” Sam just smiled back at him. “We’ll figure it out, just like you said, I just needed to vent it out it seems. Now, let’s go back inside or Tucker will eat even the tofu corn dogs.”


	3. DISASTER

The next following days were not so difficult, most people were more worried about having to pay for witnessing a ghost fight than to be there. so there hadn’t been too much noise about it, only those who had been there during the attack or walked in on it had to give cash out of their pocket. Tucker had mentioned that maybe since the Masters’ Blasters were still not good at it, and since Vlad was probably helping them the fewer people around made it for an easier and shorter battle, also people had never thought it necessary to pay for more than repairs, not even Danny’s parents got a penny out of hunting ghosts, at least no more than what they could make with selling shields and basic protection when people approached them.

Danny just feared how inopportune the next attack at school was going to be, there was less space to pretend you didn’t know about a ghost attack and more people gathered in a small radius, not to say students usually never carried a lot of money on them. So it was usual misfortune to find Danny in the hallway when the Lunch Lady attacked, she came out of the door leading to the lunchroom screaming about another change on the menu (he was sure it didn’t have anything to do with Sam this time) already transformed in a monster mixture of mashed potatoes and that thing the current lunch lady said was salad.

Danny turned around, already feeling up to deal with her by any means possible, other students were already running and screaming, Danny, however, opened his bag while looking at her, at some point the Lunch Lady had grabbed Dash and was keeping him in the air blaming him on the changed menu. Trying to be as subtle as possible, Danny launched some ecto-grenades that started spraying the ghost with some liquid that slowed her down.

“No more sitting on the sidelines,” he said in a low voice before pulling the Jack’o Nine Tails and launching it at the Lunch Lady, who screamed when the first electric shock got her, almost releasing Dash in the process (he didn’t seem affected much to Danny’s relief). He then attempted to put some space between them, running to one side while turning on a wrist ray on his right arm; however, the Lunch Lady managed to grab him and also got him in the air. With both arms trapped on the Lunch Lady’s hand, he couldn’t use the wrist ray.

In the meantime, the hallways were almost empty, but the sound of footsteps could be heard from a group running towards them, Danny could feel anger crept on him as he knew the Master’s Blasters were on their way.

“What's with you, Fenton? Who do you think you are? Danny Phantom?” Dash’s comment did nothing to help with how he felt, so he started moving to try and free himself before the others could show up.

The Lunch Lady screamed at him, probably trying to stop him, but then Danny felt something similar to what he used to feel when his eyes glowed and screamed back at her “STOP THIS, NOW!”

To his surprise the Lunch Lady looked at him and stopped, slowly lowering him to the floor, Danny still surprised barely took notice of the Master’s Blasters on the corner on the hallway, had his voice had echo? The newcomers were already pulling out what looked like a Fenton Thermos but with Vlad’s colors. The Lunch Lady kept looking at him as she was pulled into it, not with a confused expression as he had expected there was something else in her eyes, if someone were to ask no one will be able to explain what happened.

“You guys are the coolest ghost fighters ever” Dash’s voice while approaching the ghost fighting trio was what took Danny out of his stupor. He looked around noticing how the hallway was smeared with food and noticing his clothes were also covered in it.

“Thanks, dude. That'll be three hundred bucks” said Download extending a hand to gather the money, Dash and Danny looked at each other before looking for their wallets; some other students that had looked out to see the ghost get captured also approached, taking their money out of their pockets.

Later that day when Danny arrived home from school his parents and Jazz were watching the news, to his annoyance the reporter this time was giving a short mention to the most recent ghost attack at Casper High, saying how the mere presence of the Masters’ Blasters had made the ghost afraid and they had not had to use as many weapons to capture the evil apparition and save two young and defenseless teens. Danny rolled his eyes when Jazz looked at him quizzically, there wasn’t any footage of the actual scene, but he was sure that if there had been any Vlad would have made it so there was only one defenseless teen on the shoot.

His parents weren’t really paying attention to it, they had learned recently that the explosion of the portal had made big damage so they will need to start almost from scratch to make it work again, his father had been very upset sitting on the couch, holding a picture of it and holding back tears while Maddie tried to reassure him.

“There, there dear. So the ghost portal exploded. It's not the end of the world. You can always make another one.”

“I don't want another one. That portal and I have been through a lot together... and all because I wanted to download music faster. Oh, curse me and my impatience!” said Jack holding the picture to his chest and sobbing.

Danny was about to make a comment about that when suddenly the jingle for special report news came from the TV, a moment later Lance Thunder was on the screen “We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news from National Aeronautics and Space Administration. “

“Earlier today our readings indicated that a massive asteroid is hurtling across the solar system, where its trajectory will send it crashing directly into the Earth. If immediate action is not taken our entire planet could face destruction, our researchers and the nations of the world that had already been informed about it are already working on a way to stop it, this will require time and a lot of resources, at this moment we can’t say much about it, there’s still time but we would like to encourage cooperation from everyone as this is not an ordinary situation” said one of the scientists on the screen.

“We estimate a couple of months’ time before the asteroid reaches earth, the fate of the human race is at stake, but we’re already working to try our best to avoid that if anything more studies and readings will be continually shared with the world. We know this will cause panic in different places for many people, even though we were not intending to put this pressure on everyone we thought it best to let the world know, we’re all sharing the same planet, we need to work together and make as much as we can before the asteroid arrives if we can solve it, it will be a shared victory, and if we don’t, at least we’ll know we did everything in our hands” said another scientist, the old man seemed sad but managed to smile a bit before the transmission cut off to some recommendations from the government to handle the situation.

From then on, even when some people had rebelled against it, the regular activities continued, people going to work and school, for everyone every day’s life had to go on, it reduced the stress they said, while outside there were also persons just doing things varying from stupid to interesting, there were also some more sad results. The news was filled with reports of people’s achievements and funny notes, to research and news from the asteroid to the saddest news about people taking their own lives or dying while trying something. Chaos was part of everyday life, not even ghost attacks were on the front page now, not that there were many or that Danny had to take care of them.

“News of the approaching asteroid. Which some are now calling the Disasteroid, circulates around the globe. Countries are combining their greatest technologies to stop the oncoming threat. Sadly it appears that our best may not be good enough” Some footage of several rockets loaded with various machines and missiles were sent to space, while they managed to make contact with the asteroid, the damage made didn’t really account to destroy the huge rock, it had reduced its size a bit, but now smaller boulders were also moving along with it towards the earth. Many people were losing hope and, the time had also reduced itself to around a month.

Much to their surprise, Vlad had at some point reached out to the Fentons, while he had bought most of the materials and also worked with Jack and Maddie to build and create the necessary controls to send a particular mission to stop the disasteroid, he had a weird smile plastered on his face the entire time, something that Danny didn’t like one bit. His parents had made all the preparations and because Danny had the best handling over controls similar to the ones Nasa used when sending a manned mission to outer space, they allowed him to be the one on the operations center with his mother and Jazz who were also there, they had other jobs assigned like communications and keeping track of the readings on the screen. Vlad was there, he had some papers on his hands, but since early that morning he had done nothing but review them and shoot that annoying smirk of his, when the media arrived Danny wasn’t sure if Vlad was actually checking on notes from the mission or practicing his lines for when the camera started rolling.

His dad and the Masters’ Blasters had gone to the selected launching place since the day before and had already boarded the ship, his father was on the lead so when the time was almost up, Lance Thunder walked into the center and started his report.

“Thanks, Shelly. I'm here ringside where a privately funded mission to stop the Disasteroid is underway,” he said pointing to the many computers they already had lined up and ready.

“I can't believe I'm just sitting here at a computer console when I could be out there. And I really can't believe we have to do this with him.” He said when Jazz walked beside him to take her place in front of her assigned screen.

“We would have never been able to get this mission up and running so fast if he hadn't paid for everything. So at least until the world is saved, chill.” Jazz pretended to drink from a cup of coffee while passing him, she was still very optimistic and hadn’t allowed Danny to say a word against Vlad the whole time his parents had worked with him for this mission, but something was not right and Danny couldn’t shake the feeling off.

“How's it going, young man?” Lance had approached him almost out of nowhere, Danny had been prepared to maybe give one or two facts when he saw the cameras and all the other equipment arrive and be set up, but he was still a bit nervous.

“Uh… My dad Jack Fenton is piloting our new” Vlad cleared his throat behind him “Fenton Rocket, and is on his way to try to destroy the asteroid.” He said while clicking on some buttons on the screen to get a front view of the camera inside the Rocket, his father had a very serious expression on his face, the Masters’ Blasters behind him were also keeping up their possess.

“With me now is Amity Park's mayor Vlad Masters. I understand you've sent in your own team of experts.” Lance said placing Vlad under his microphone.

“Oh yes. Seeing as the world is in jeopardy, I felt that the Masters' Blasters presence was an absolute necessity. Plus, think of how well their action figures will sell.” Lance, Danny, and Maddie all lifted a brow at the last part of the comment, Danny frowned, was this clown ever going to take the situation seriously? Or was he planning something else besides this mission? It seemed Vlad could barely control himself when it came to trying to impress or gain followers.

“Dad. Mission status?” he asked trying to derail the attention from stupid Vlad Masters. His father on the screen had already started entering information from a paper to the controls on the Rocket, Danny was doing something similar but making sure the numbers matched the ones Vlad had provided them, he then confirmed with Jack, while the information could be also managed from the earth, the button to shoot the specialized missiles was only on the ship.

“Reading seismic drill charges. Now!” Jack was very confident now he only had to wait on the countdown to press on the release button

“Detonation in three. Two. One.” Danny said out loud, but his father was following the same count down on his screen. He pressed the button and the missiles drilled down on the surface of the asteroid, or at least the part that could be seen from the screen.

Then after a couple of seconds had passed they exploded, a dust cloud set itself around the camera after this, to reveal it had disintegrated its objective. People in the operation center shouted with cheered for a moment.

“Ha! I knew we could do it. There isn't a rock anywhere that could outsmart Jack Fenton.” His father’s proud voice boomed on the speakers.

“Wait, that's the Disasteroid. You had us blow up the wrong one, you idiot,” said one of the Masters’ Blasters out of the screen. Someone grabbed the camera and moved towards one of the small crystal windows and pointing it at the biggest asteroid still out there.

“But I-I couldn't have. Vladdie gave me the asteroid's coordinates himself.” Jack’s voice managed to carry out from the Fenton Rocket, Lance Thunder immediately turned to him with his microphone ready “Oops. Looks like I set the wrong coordinates. Silly me! You know how bad I can be with computers.” He then turned to Danny and placed a hand on his shoulder “Looks like your father has failed once again, and when time needs a hero the most.”

Danny was furious, so ignoring how Lance was giving a sad message to the audience he approached him and took the microphone from him “As many of you know Vlad, the Major is a good friend of my parents, the Fentons, and a scientist of his own, he worked side by side with them for weeks, the calculations and coordinates made and entered today for those missiles were made by him” Danny was now struggling against Vlad who was trying to take the microphone from him.

“At least he tried, Vlad. What have you done except send others to do your work for you? Or take advantage of other people’s work?” Lance had managed to take the microphone from Danny at that point.

“And where are you Danny Phantom? It looks like my plan to shame you into hiding was even more effective than I could have hoped.” Vlad smirked and Danny felt anger rise in him, the familiar sensation of power rushing inside him was missing though, but Vlad still stepped away from him.

Lance was just closing the report when there was an incoming information sound. “I'm just getting word that scientists now know that the Disasteroid originated from the rings of Saturn, while they don’t know what caused such a large object to be expelled out of its regular orbit around that planet, they now know it’s been moving at constant speed ever since”

“Saturn? Your satellite exploded. That's what moved the asteroid. You're the one who caused this catastrophe!” Danny pushed Vlad away and moved away from him. Had he still had ghosts powers he would have punched him, this was all levels of madness, and the fact that he had been so irresponsible only accounted for the lack of respect he had for the man.

“Defeating you was just the first act of my little show. Get ready for act two.” Vlad couldn’t have planned this, not all this, if only he was trying to work things in his favor, but Danny wasn’t sure yet he will be able to do much about it, the disasteroid was a real threat, no one had faced something similar before.

It wasn’t a surprise that the broadcast was changed later, probably after a good amount of money was traded with the news broadcaster, and Danny and his Dad had been badmouthed, but Danny felt it had been worthy, most of the damage was from the media, but most people who had been watching the transmission had heard it clear from both Fentons, that Vlad had been involved in the situation, so Vlad wasn’t too happy either.

The next day, Vlad had called out for a press conference, Danny had called Sam and Tucker to be there with him, his parents had been invited even though Maddie was really angry the Masters’ Blasters had beaten Jack and how Vlad had manipulated the mission.

“Tell me again, why are we here?” Sam said drinking from a bottle of water; they were outside City Hall where many people had gathered, most of them carrying some protest signs about the transmission but they were just waiting to hear what Vlad had to say before starting with that.

“Because, we've got to see what Vlad's up to, he says he's got new that will impact the entire world.” Danny had the feeling that he knew exactly what he was going to do and he didn’t like it at all, but there was little he could do about it.

On the podium, Vlad walked in and got to the microphone, behind him the Masters’ Blasters were standing a bit to the side, the trio didn’t look happy, not only had they been also called out about the failed mission, but also they didn’t seem to be very fond of Vlad.

“Citizens of the Earth, I have news that will impact the entire world. Though every attempt at destroying the Disasteroid has failed, I come to you today offering an alternative solution. One I think you will find most surprising.” Danny braced himself for it, but it was still disgusting seeing the triumphant look on Vlad’s face when he launched himself from the podium into the air and then transformed into Vlad Plasmius.

“I did not see that coming,” said his father, Danny looked at him, seeing how his expression went from surprised and mostly sad to angry.

“Yes though I use my human half to walk among you, it is obvious that I am a far superior creature.” Danny was almost vibrating with anger, but to his surprise, it seemed he was not the only one, his mother had a hand ready to grab at the ecto-gun on her belt, and most people seemed to be shuffling on their feet, some even shouted things at Vlad, not happy at all to see him in his ghost form, many also seemed to remember him. So Vlad had to float a bit higher than he had expected.

A reporter lifted her microphone “Who are you?”

“Though the world has come to know me as Vlad Masters billionaire mayor of Amity Park, I prefer you call me by my chosen slightly more evil name…Vlad Plasmius.” Danny lifted an eyebrow at his choice of words, Vlad had to be very confident on how everything was going to work if he was willing to let the world know he was evil.

“I have a proposition to make. The nations of the world must agree unanimously to pay me five hundred billion dollars and make me the absolute ruler. In return I shall use my ghost powers” he said making an elaborate gesture with a hand, at that point Danny, Sam, and Tucker had heard enough, they shared a glance but stayed put just to see the people’s reaction.

“To destroy the Disasteroid?” asked the same reporter a moment later.

“No: to turn it intangible.” The people around them awed at this.

“Evil, but ingenious; that way it'll just pass harmlessly through the Earth.” Said Maddie out loud, not that she seemed any happier at the prospect, especially with the demands Vlad was making.

“It's your choice world. Be destroyed or be saved. Oh, and ruled by me. I eagerly await your decision. And that concludes act two of what I like to call one nation under Vlad. On to the finale.” Vlad stayed in the air while the people below reacted, many of those who had gone there to protest started doing so, some other people left the place defeated, some others were cheering, some, Danny noticed, had started silently crying.

Feeling a bit hopeless Danny clenched and unclenched his fists, he was still buzzing with the overwhelming emotions of both the anger he felt from Vlad and how worried he was about his family and friends, there had to be away, he needed to find a way out of this.

It was his father’s voice, hurt with betrayal, which snapped him out of his line of thought “How could you hold the world hostage like that Vladdie? And after the good fortune, you've had in your life.”

Vlad had the audacity to look offended, “good fortune?! You infect me with ghost DNA then steal the love of my life and you call that good fortune?”

“I infected you? You mean…”

“Yes fool. It was your bumbling that made me what I am today. But, I suppose I should be saying thank you. For without you I wouldn't be moments away from becoming the ruler of the Earth.” The people still watching Vlad saw the encounter with surprise, partially concerned that Jack Fenton had caused this situation indirectly and partially skeptical of the relationship between such different men.

“I never meant to hurt you. What happened was an accident. I'm your friend, Vladdie. I've always been your friend. I even voted for you!” Jack defended himself, many people knew the man was really obsessed with ghosts, but he was always kind and good-willed, he wasn’t one to cause problems purposefully.

“I'll remember that when I steal Maddie from you and make her my queen” Maddie Fenton was beside her husband the moment Vlad said this, grabbing at his arm and frowning at Vlad.

Later that day, after talking with Sam, Tucker, and Jazz about possible things they could do to avoid Vlad’s oncoming reign of terror and also some of the options they had in case something went wrong, afterward when Sam and Tucker left, Danny and Jazz had stayed in the living room while his parents were talking in the kitchen.

It hadn’t been their intention to eavesdrop, however, at some point, Maddie’s voice had traveled over the noise of the TV.

“… understand Jack, he has been manipulating us all along, who knows what kind of psychopath is he? I forgave him for what happened when he saved Danny that one time, but he’s dangerous, maybe he caused that!” Their mother was practically shouting, the current situation with Vlad had her losing her temper, something that not even Danny had managed and he had seen his mother angry. They could tell it wasn’t even the kind of rage she displayed when facing a ghost, Maddie Fenton was furious.

“I know, but all those years…” his father on the other hand seemed to be having a hard time letting go of such an old friendship.

“They mean nothing Jack, he hid from us for 20 years! Hid ghost powers and held them as a grudge against us- against you! – instead of coming clean and let us know! We could have helped him, work things out with him for the better… We were always real friends for him, and I know you cared for him as a brother, but he has never done something in our favor, he’s been actively trying to separate us, you heard him, and I’m sure he has tried to hurt our children, Danny doesn’t dislike people without a good reason!” Jazz had noticed how Danny had slid down on the couch, looking worried for a moment.

“I know… and I understand is just so…”

“No, you can’t just sit there and look back on the illusion that he was feeding you! He’s still Vlad but maybe his ghost half made him like this. He humiliated you on purpose on that mission! It’s not up to discussion anymore, Vlad Masters is no longer welcome in our lives, I don’t care what we’ll need to do, I’m moving to the Ghost Zone if it means not having to see him ever again!” His mother’s tone was so firm and unwavering, she was being serious.

“But Maddie, he’s a ghost, for all we know, he can still enter the Ghost Zone!”

“Sure he can, but he said he will rule the earth, as far as I know, there’s a Ghost King, the one poor Danny encountered and had to be brought back injured, maybe Vlad left him out there for all I know, and this king will not bend down to allow the Ghost Zone to be ruled by Vlad.” The way Maddie spat the name out made both Fenton siblings flinch, but their mother’s tone shook a bit while talking about the Ghost King and Danny felt himself shiver but it wasn’t caused by his ghost sense.

“Are you considering making a truce with whoever this Ghost King is? That might be very dangerous Maddie.”

“Maybe… We’ll cross that bridge  _ if _ we get to it!”


	4. RUNNING OUT OF TIME

Of course, the opinion of the world didn’t take long to reach the news, many people were against Vlad’s demands and some other options had been shared among countries, however, the time was running out, some of the options to try another mission to space with new missiles would take time, there had been many debates and Vlad had been on the news daily. The uproar was such that some UN agents had actually visited the Fentons and had talked to them trying to convince them that Jack had to be the person to accompany Vlad to space to turn the disasteroid intangible, they were the ones who still had the Fenton Rocket and all the systems were still working. It took a couple of days of working it out with them, Jack said he will do it, hesitating on how to deal with the situation, Maddie had accepted only cause the UN had at some point talked with them about relocation and other jobs they could have that could keep them away from Vlad’s full control.

After almost 5 days of discussions and protest from people around the world, it was the UN president who informed the world of the decision to accept Vlad’s terms and work with him, they also announced the new mission that will be sent so they could travel to it and keep at outer space while the disasteroid approached the earth, it was going to be a week-long mission. Why Vlad wanted to be there that much before the asteroid was near the planet? He said it was to measure how much energy he will need to turn the asteroid intangible and use his powers to deviate the smaller boulders and eradicate the menace.

Danny was never going to forget sitting outside the operations center the night before while looking at the dis asteroid shining in the distance on the night sky, an intruder among his beloved stars. They had been told that if this didn’t work they will not be able to see his father again, this had caused a very emotive scene during the day before he had to leave to be at the Fenton Rocket the next morning, Jazz had cried and told him all those things he had seen on romantic movies, his mother had been both, angry and sad, not only was she allowing her husband to go with Vlad to try to save the world, she was also facing the possibility of never seeing him again and the knowledge that they will be apart when that happened.

Danny had sat down with his father in the same spot he was right now, they had talked about some things, Danny even considered mentioning he had been Danny Phantom all along, if this was the last time to share this with his father, then so be it, but he couldn’t find the words, his father had talked with him about many important things and had been his optimistic self throughout the conversation, but it felt final as if they were really saying goodbye, and the things that usually father and son should share in a lifetime, felt lost in time, Danny had been unable to walk downstairs to wave him goodbye.

Unknown to anyone else, Danny had been keeping constant conversations with Sam and Tucker about emergency plans, using his time wisely to have something at hand that they could try last second, or even try if Vlad tried to separate them, and also planning their last day together if things went wrong. To his surprise Tucker had decided to try and prove his technical abilities and knowledge to the max, he knew he wasn’t going to jail if anybody finds out and the world ended, and he had enough tools to cover his footprints if they managed to avoid world destruction, so his good friend had hacked his way into any security system he could, national and international security, he had managed to access everything, world secrets included.

Tucker had actually found out some of the projects that had been considered to try and avoid the catastrophe, there had been many tools developed; some of them didn’t even make sense but had a characteristic that made it possible to disassemble and use them for other purposes if needed. They had spent a couple of hours daydreaming about using all those tools to create armor to cover the planet, or to develop a powerful laser to destroy it, according to Tucker, there was enough to do that.

Sam hadn’t been making much but stay away from her parents and spending time with her grandma, her parents were busy building a bunker or trying to convince NASA to allow them to move and live on any of the space stations, not that any of those options were working or useful, but what else.

On his part Danny had been worried, ghost hadn’t been showing up at all during the last couple of days, not even the Box Ghost, he still had the Infimap, so he knew the natural portals kept happening, however, no ghost had taken the chance to use them, maybe the ghost zone was safe? During the previous week his parents had taken time to try and repair the portal, on one hand, to try and keep up with Maddie’s plan if needed (when she had told them about this option Jazz and Danny had to pretend they found it funny before showing their actual concerns) and on the other just as a stress relief.

They had been near to finish setting it up, but it was still inactive. He had been thinking about their options, but he was afraid this was going to be something that wouldn’t be able to work without external help; he had been wishing he could visit Clockwork or Frostbite; he could use a bit of good advice right now.

The next day on an international broadcast Vlad signed up the new terms that named him the Ruler or Earth and the money he had requested. Why did Vlad need the money anyway if he was going to be the ruler of the whole planet? It was a mystery, but maybe his hunger for power was going to be his demise in the end. Danny took, once more, his place at the operations center and help set up everything to make sure his father and Vlad could reach the disasteroid, he knew that Vlad himself had been okay with the request because that way they couldn’t sabotage the mission, not that there was anything they could need to sabotage at all, however, his mother and Jazz had backed out on helping him this time.

Once there he set everything in place, making sure to set up the recorder on the ship and on both his father’s and Vlad’s helmet on and working, he couldn’t count on the recordings being saved for human history, but he could at least have the satisfaction of having it on record if Vlad messed up. He tried not to think about that, at least they still had a week. He tried to ignore Vlad’s hologram on the screen when it showed up to announce they were within reach of the asteroid, he didn’t want to know how had Vlad managed to get recordings of her mother’s voice to do that.

On the ship his father was looking at Vlad with apprehension, maybe the idea of having to spend a week with Vlad while facing the end of the world was already sinking in. Vlad left the ship without even looking at Jack and flew towards the asteroid, the green shiny surface of the asteroid was on the screen of Vlad’s helmet, on the recording his hands reached towards it to touch the surface. From the ship the ghost could be seen doing the same, only to make contact with it and receive something similar to an electric shock.

“Ah. No. No. No! What is the meaning of this?” he said pressing a button on a wrist controller he had installed there.

“Asteroid composed entirely of the unique anti-ghost element ecto-ranium. Ecto-ranium. Ecto-ranium.” The hologram seemed to be having technical issues too, but as far as Danny was concerned these were bad news, if anything Vlad’s expression was a dead giveaway.

“Ecto-ranium? Then I can never touch it. No ghost can. That means…the Earth is doomed. And even if it wasn't I could never go back. I've revealed…my true self. I'll be forever hunted.” It was interesting how on a moment like that Vlad was forgetting that there was going to be a delayed but complete transmission of what was going on, about one or two hours afterward but it was time enough for them to turn around and be on their way back. Just then Danny noticed something getting turned on inside the ship, a ghost shield, you’ve got to give him credit, his father could set up ghost weapons and shield on anything even if it seemed they would be useless, of course, the Fenton Rocket had one; Vlad seemed to notice this and turned to the Fenton’s patriarch “Jack, you have to help me. You wouldn't turn your back on an old friend, would you?”

Danny had never felt more proud of his father than at this moment, his serious face while looking at Vlad from inside the ship, where he couldn’t go back and near an anti-ecto asteroid was priceless “An old friend? No. You? Yes.” He then shut down the communications with Vlad. “Set in instructions to take me back son, I’ll be there for dinner”

Danny didn’t need to be asked twice, he set up the information needed to abort the mission and turn the Fenton Rocket’s direction back to earth, when he was sure his father was safely on his way back he ran downstairs to tell Jazz and his mother the news. It wasn’t the best way to share that the world was still going to end, but this time they got to be together.

To the world the news was really impacting, people started to panic and most of the news that was broadcasted was about sharing time with family and friends, the rest of the time reruns of old shows or movies were on the tv, and this was only on the very first hours after the Fenton Rocket returned. It was late that same day when Tucker, Sam, and Jazz sat down in the living room with Danny; his parents had celebrated and then they had gone straight to the lab to work on the portal if there were more giggles than tinkering sounds coming from the lab the team didn’t really notice.

“So, what are we gonna do?” asked Tuck as soon as Danny sat down next to Sam.

Knowing full well they were expecting him to take the lead and give them a bit more hope than the world had, Danny sighed and joined his hands in front of him. “What if we don't make the asteroid intangible? What if we made the Earth intangible?”

The other three shared a look for a moment, the idea wasn’t what had them speechless for a moment, it was probably the notion that Danny couldn’t currently turn anything intangible.

“The whole Earth? Intangible? Are you kidding?” Sam asked being the first one to protest.

“Yeah, you'd need like a bazillion ghosts to do that.” Tucker had already pulled out his PDA and was making some sort of calculations, probably trying to get the full amount of ghost they knew to see if they were enough.

Danny smirked at his comment, looking at Jazz and Sam too, he pulled the Infi-map from his backpack “Behold…the addresses of a bazillion ghosts.”

“I didn’t even remember you still had it!” Sam exclaimed excitedly.

“But how are we going to get into the Ghost Zone? Your portal is still not working and we're never gonna get near Vlad's now that everyone knows who he really is, they probably already raided the place.”

“I've got it covered. Come on. The Infi-map can lead us into any entrance into the Ghost Zone anywhere on the Earth.” The specter speeder had been moved to the backyard next to the RV due to space requirements, so they didn’t have to visit the lab to take it. So Danny led the others towards it and a couple of minutes later they were steadily moving towards a certain place. “And now, according to the map a natural portal is about to open right here.”

They were facing a billboard of the Nasty Burger; the image of a person with their mouth wide open to take a bite off a hamburger greeted them. The portal opened slowly until it was of enough size to let them in.

If it wasn’t for all the situations they had been facing recently it was probable they would have entered sooner. Facing the ghost zone a new was refreshing in its own way for them, it was Jazz who was there for the first time who seemed nervous.

“I-I don't believe…“she had gone pale when the portal closed behind them.

“Believe it Jazz. Welcome to the Ghost Zone. Sort of a Ghosts R' Us.” Danny was already maneuvering the speeder in a certain direction, but it was quite obvious something was wrong.

“But all the shelves are empty. Where the heck is everybody?” asked Tucker looking around.

“I don’t want to worry about it just yet, we’re running out of time and I don’t want to waste it, maybe we’re lucky and will be able to avoid trouble,” said Danny driving by experience to his intended target.

“Where are we going?” asked Jazz looking at the depths of the Ghost Zone from Danny’s shoulder.

“To the Far Frozen, I’m pretty sure the best way to start is to contact some allies” it didn’t take long for them to get on a steady pace towards Frostbite’s lair, they had yet to encounter any other ghost thought they had been able to see some figures moving in the dark but they didn’t approach.

At their arrival, some guards received them, like the first time they visited they were given coats and then were led to Frostbite. The guards were looking at Danny with unease, it was probably due to the fact that he wasn’t in his ghost form and he hated to think maybe they didn’t trust him anymore cause of that.

To their shared surprise Frostbite wasn’t alone, no one else but Clockwork was there talking with him, they both looked at them as they approached.

“There he is!” Clockwork greeted him, and for a moment Danny felt contempt seeing how they didn’t seem to find anything wrong with him not being a ghost “We were expecting you.”

“Great One, we’re glad to see you managed to find your way, we know there’s a big situation going on out there and that you need assistance, but there’s something we need to talk about first” Frostbite had received the Infi-map from Danny’s hands only to place a hand on his shoulder and guide him towards another room.

“You know? Uhm… But, my friends” Danny tried to protest as he saw guards prevent Sam, Tucker, and Jazz from following them.

“Now Danny, there’s something important we need to discuss with you and is very important. You will be able to tell your friends later, but right now this information has to remain in as little hands as possible” Danny felt himself tense with worry after what Clockwork said, but tried to keep calm, they led him to a circular room with a dome for a ceiling, there Pandora was waiting, sitting on a high chair.

She stood up after seeing them come and smiled at Danny “It good to see you again boy” she greeted him. Frostbite then cleared his throat and moved so that the four of them were in a circle.

“Now Great One, we are aware of your current situation, before the ghost retreated to the Ghost Zone they let us know about it”

“The ghost retreated, what does that mean?” Danny asked.

“Most of the ghosts that used to reside outside the portal came back to the ghost zone after sensing a big danger. Some of the most recent ghosts mentioned this is coming from the space and can cause major disaster”

“Yeah, it’s being called the Disasteroid. It’s a huge asteroid that’s approaching earth and the experts say it will impact the planet and destroy it, many attempts have been made but nothing has worked that’s why I…”

Clockwork lifted a hand to stop him. “We will help you Daniel, and everyone we ask will surely do so too, but not every ghost will want to risk it” Danny deflated a bit at his comment, which had been very near to what he wanted to hear until there was a ‘ _ but’ _ .

“But we believe there’s still something you can do” this time Pandora started to walk around the room, her head looking at the ground in deep thought. “You earned more than just the respect of some ghosts after defeating Pariah Dark, if the situation hadn’t been so out of the ordinary we would have reached out and explained this to you back then, but if you had wanted to you could have claimed the crown of fire and the ring of rage as yours”

“What do you mean?” Danny asked fearing what it implied.

“It would have made you the new Ghost King,” confirmed Clockwork “however you came out of that battle weakened and unable to receive such power at the time.” The ghost every shifting form told him while changing from an old man to a child.

“It was also strange, to have someone that was not only young, but also half-ghost and half-human, it made it for a debate that not only the Observants would have trouble dealing with, but many ghosts as well” Pandora continued.

“And it was also dangerous back then.” Clockwork looked at Danny with his young man face, his eyes making it clear he was referring to that one time he had to defeat himself.

“What are you trying to tell me? How is that important now? I no longer have ghost powers!” Danny tried to make it clear, they weren’t supposed to be talking about this, there were urgent matters they needed to discuss, they could be planning right now how to convince the ghosts to help turn the earth intangible.

“But that’s the thing, young man,” said Pandora stopping at his side “We’ve been informed that the crown of fire and the ring of rage had been showing activity, they’ve been responding to something, or for better wording to someone”

“You mean they’re reacting to me? But now, I’ve been like this for about a month now, I haven’t been able to do anything remotely similar to using a ghost power, there should be someone else doing that!” Danny tried to defend himself, he was about to panic, not only was he worried about the fate of the impending end of the world, but now he also had to worry about becoming the Ghost King, and a powerless one to that.

“Calm down Great One, we’re not here to make you do anything you don’t want, and there’s no one else who could have any link with the objects other than you... But we think maybe you could regain your powers if you use the crown and ring” Frostbite seemed ashamed of giving him that option, a small spark of hope appeared inside Danny, but at the same time, he was terrified to acknowledge it.

“And if I don’t want to do that?” Danny asked after taking a moment to compose.

“As I was saying, we’re not asking you to do anything you don’t want,” said Frostbite smiling down at him, “you have the right to claim them as yours, but is up to you to decide.”

“But we believe it could help you summon all the ghosts, they could disobey an order but not a request, especially one made from the new Ghost King trying to keep the place safe, they will be able to feel your intentions” Pandora seemed to think this was the best strategy, her expression only showed optimism, much like his mother’s when she talked about how one of their new inventions was supposed to work and the expected result.

“You don’t even have to wear them, the crown and the ring. Using them will grant you more power and abilities, but the title they will give you, the right to use and have that power, is something you have to choose to claim, it is the right you earned and it’s up to you to accept it,” Clockwork’s voice in his elder form made him look up at the eyes of the three ghosts surrounding him “It could be the key to the future you’re looking for.”

A couple of minutes later Danny was led once again by Frostbite to where Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were waiting for him, he hadn’t made a choice yet over if he wanted to take the option they had told him he had yet or if he was going to try first to do it on his own way.

The other trio was busy, telling the yeti’s about the issue at hand and planning with them so there could be support teams on different parts of the earth by the time they will try to make the plan effective, Tucker had already started thinking about the best way to deliver the idea and it seemed some of the scientists of the Far Frozen was helping him develop the idea.

It didn’t take long for the ghost to tell them that they will be ready when needed and Frostbite told him that Pandora and Clockwork will share the plan with their associates to make sure everything worked, but they still needed more ghosts to make it work. Before they left Frostbite gave him the Infi-map again, while it was good to have it back and see he had taken good care of it, the old yeti explained he needed it more than him right now.

Surprisingly enough, it was on their way back where they encountered some ghosts, some of them blog ghost that didn’t really stay for long and disappeared moments later, Danny wasn’t driving this time and Tucker was taking his time while Sam guided him to Dora’s kingdom while explained Jazz who they were trying to locate, out of the ghost they knew she was one of the firsts that could actually be able to consider helping them. In the meantime Danny had sat on the back of the speeder to think, it sounded so easy to just go out and say ‘ _hey, I’ll be the new king, come out and help me save the world_ ’ but he had the feeling that it wasn’t going to be a piece of cake, he had always been someone who liked to be the first to have ground to say he was already doing something before asking for help and at that moment the lack of ghost powers made him feel unqualified to a certain extent.

They were halfway to Dora’s lair when something impacted the speeder. Danny immediately moved to the front of the speeder to see what had happened. “What's going on?”

A moment later Skulker floated in front of them with one of his guns charged and aiming at them. “Foolish of you to come here in your human form, ghost child. Seeking refuge in the Ghost Zone, like all the others? All these ghosts! You humans put your world in danger and now the Ghost Zone is bursting at the seams” the argument Skulker was trying to make sounded forced as if he was trying to justify his reaction with being annoyed by the increase of ghosts in the area instead of the actual danger that everyone was facing.

“It’s not on purpose, we didn’t make this happen, as for trying to take refuge here, this is the flip side of our world. If the Earth gets destroyed, the Ghost Zone goes, too” said Tucker with a note of exasperation.

Skulker just readied his gun and charged it, as if on cue many other ghosts appeared in front of them until they were surrounded. “You guys get into the escape pod.” Danny switched places with Tucker while the three of them moved into the back of the speeder and turned it into the escape pod.

The escape pod was ejected from the speeder the moment the ghosts started attacking, who must have thought it was just a piece of the speeder loosening, a moment later Tucker had activated the cloaking system and they were floating in the ghost zone camouflaged from the other ghosts. Danny tried to drive it away from them and escape, but the speeder couldn’t take too many attacks and a moment later he too was ejected from it and found himself floating among all the ghosts in the place about to attack him.

There wasn’t room for coherent thoughts, Danny saw all the energy gathered around him for a second before it started moving towards him in hot and cold waves, he curled in on himself and felt the energy collide against his body, he screamed but a moment later a feeling he was all too familiar with him filled him, there was also something else there, something new that had approached him and was eagerly waiting for him to do something… It only took a second to grab onto it, without him fully realizing what happened.

A moment later Danny Phantom, full of the energy the ectoplasm in his DNA provided him and feeling somehow invigorated by the collective attack, was floating in the strange space that was the Ghost Zone. “You just made a big mistake. Well, gang, there's good news and bad news. Good news my powers are back. Bad news…my powers are back!” Suddenly the echo-y feature of his voice had a different but welcome note to it, and he could feel the wave of power inside him while he looked at the ghosts in front of him. He inhaled deeply and then used his ghostly wail to sweep away all the ghosts surrounding them.

To his surprise he didn’t feel immediately out of energy, so when he turned around to find the escape pod and smile triumphantly at his friends through the only glass window on it, he couldn’t feel the small sense of pride inside him at how ecstatic they were, the team was complete again.

He allowed them a pair of minutes of cheering, mostly Sam and Jazz who were practically screaming like fangirls, strange for Sam, unusual for Jazz who was also jumping a little, Danny and Tucker shared a questioning glance, his best friend had also expressed his emotion, but the girls lasted a minute more. Danny couldn’t help but chuckle when Sam controlled herself, leaning against the escape pod’s wall and using her hands like a fan.

“Those ghosts are going to come back and something tells me they're not gonna be too happy about helping us” Tucker tried to keep a serious tone but was still smiling after saying that.

“You're right. We better get out of here until we've got everything figured out. We’ll visit Dora later.” He then pushed the escape pod through the Ghost Zone, looking for the next portal to get back home; luckily Tucker had the Infi-map in his backpack and guided them out of the Zone.

Wasting no time they started working as soon as arriving to find the best way to solve the problem, part of the information that Tucker had managed to work out with the help of the scientists of the Far Frozen indicated that they needed some sort of conductor that could be set up around the globe to better transfer the power, there was enough material and ways to get more if needed to work with if the countries cooperated, there was also the need to know where the asteroid was going to hit first and if phasing through where it was going to come out. It took Jazz a couple of calls to some friends and acquaintances she had made at universities to get the information, her friends had been really confused as to why she would need that information in the first place but she brushed it off as something her parents had mentioned.

Sam who had some contacts on some international associations (mostly people who were doing something for the environment) got in touch with them to explain part of the plan and ask if they used some sort of special places or means to install and transport something, the plan required setting up conductors all around the planet and ever the nature lover she wanted that to be the least invasive as possible.


	5. SAVING THE WORLD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter, I never thought it will be this long, but hopefully, it wasn't that bad.

Finally after sharing the couches in the living room to sleep for the night and making sure all their work was ready and safe to present, they contacted the press and city hall offices through some hacked lines thanks to Tucker, and managed to get a conference ready by mid-day.

“ _Danny Phantom is back. After a strange absence, the teen ghost fighter has returned with a message for the world._ ” Lance Thunder seemed tired and not like his usual self on the screen, but he had been the only reporter to be contacted that day.

But if his attitude was lousy, then Danny wasn’t sure what to expect from the less than a hundred people that had gathered, some of them seemed unusually rude, not to say his parents were fully armed as if expecting him to do something similar to Vlad. So when he had to walk out to the podium he was a bit nervous.

“Uh, hello there. I have a plan that could save us all from the asteroid. And this one is absolutely free. How great is that?” he tried to use his usual easy-going humor, but it didn’t seem to have an effect.

“If ghosts can't touch the asteroid, then how are you gonna stop it?” a person in the crowd shouted, followed by some encouraging people.

“Because we're not gonna turn the asteroid intangible, we're gonna turn the Earth intangible.” Murmurs could be heard among the crowd, Tucker had chosen that moment to step next to him and place his computer next to the previously set up projector. “And I’m going to let my friend here explain the details, Tuck?”

“Ahem. Ladies, gentlemen, various nations and stuff, my name is Tucker Foley and I…am a Techno Geek.” He presented himself in a way that made it easier for the people to relax than whatever Danny could have tried.

“The new plan is very simple. With a strong enough ghostly power source and a big enough transfer device, we can send the ghost intangibility across the entire planet. This way the Disasteroid will pass harmlessly through.” The fact that he had managed not only to explain in simple terms but also made an illustrated presentation made it better.

After that, some people started asking questions, and Tucker made sure to explain what he knew and what they could use, he mentioned also cues to other countries that were actually quite useful when mentioning this was a combined effort and they were going to need all the experts and voluntaries available, a few minutes later Danny returned to the podium, feeling a bit more relaxed now that everything was out in the open, “That's the plan. Who's with us?” To his surprise some people started clapping, some others cheered and a group of people that seemed to be important approached the podium a minute later.

The following hours, the people of the earth that couldn’t help with the process were glued to the now constant transmission of the prowess of the new mission. Danny’s voice and some other experts were on the TV and radio while some recordings of the events were shared.

“ _Tucker Foley will lead the construction team in building the transfer device, while Jack and Maddie Fenton's will lead and keep in contact with the various voluntaries and experts installing the transfer cables across the globe. If we all come together, not as separate nations but as one world, we can do this._ ”

It took about 50 hours straight to fully cover the world and make sure that there was a connection with each important place to make sure nothing failed, people all around the globe had to share information on how to handle people around the cables and some others to make sure the wildlife didn’t get too excited or scared by the process. The disasteroid could now be seen almost the size of the moon in the sky, day or night.

“Not bad, huh? Now, all we need is a massive ghost power source. You sure you don't want us to go with you?” They were now at the north pole, the base had been set there to make sure they could track the asteroid’s route through the planet and the huge antenna was also there, ready to help them, they still had a couple of hours until it could be pulled by the earth’s gravity, that was going to accelerate the process.

“I'm sure. I can move faster on my own. By the way, where do mom and dad think Danny Fenton is right now?” He asked looking at Jazz and Tucker who was going through some notes.

“Helping, with the number of voluntaries that this required you’ve been setting up wires and support screws for the structure so they’re not worried, it was a good idea that you kept calling them every once in a while, they don’t suspect a thing,” said Jazz with her usual animated voice.

“We must keep going,” said Tucker after listening to a walkie-talkie he had with him “Sam, just make sure you don’t miss the signal to continue with the communications for a couple of minutes, it will hold up good, then come back you will be Danny’s contact in case of emergency”

The four of them looked at each other, and then Tucker and Jazz nodded “Gotta go. According to the map a portal is gonna open up over the pole any minute now.”

“See ya back here soon little brother and thanks.” Jazz gave him a quick hug and then turned to leave with Tucker.

Sam looked at Danny and they both walked towards the specter speeder, Sam made some quick checks with a monitor she had been given and made sure the connection was good. Danny felt a bit out of it, this was really their last time together if everything failed, so when Sam moved to stand in front of him he almost jumped in surprise.

She also seemed a bit unsure, but then she reached out for his hand and placed something in it. “It's the ring you were gonna give Valerie. You asked me to hold it, remember? Something tells me it was really meant for me. Take it with you, but promise to bring it back. If you promise, then…then I know I'll see you again.”

If he hadn’t been in his ghost form right that moment, he was sure his heart will be beating quite fast, he at least managed to avoid blushing. The ring had had a specific purpose, and he would be lying if he said he remembered, but it made a lot of sense now, his father had been right all along. And Sam, if she was doing this, could it mean? “I-if we make it through this.”

“When we make it through this” she corrected him, looking him in the eyes, there was fear in her amethyst eyes, she didn’t want to think about this plan failing. He closed his hand around the ring and smiled.

“Right, when we make it through this. I have a few things I need to talk to you about.” For some reason Sam seemed like she was about to cry, she was moving her arms… a hug? He leaned forward expecting her arms to go around his neck, and she did the same, but instead of having her arms pulling him closer for a hug, it was her lips that he felt lightly pressing on his.

It was just a second, and she pulled back looking to the side as if ashamed of what she had done or expecting his rejection. He wasn’t having that, he placed a hand to her chin and turned her face to look back at him, then it was him pulling her closer, pressing a kiss onto her lips with no hesitation at all, unlike any of the other kisses they had shared this was a meaningful one, and then time seemed to stop, for a moment they were the only people in the world.

“I think I'd be willing to listen. And no matter how this thing ends, this whole ride we've been on together, I wouldn't change it for the world. Not one bit.” Her smile and the dust of pink on her cheeks didn’t match her usual gloomy personality, but in this very moment it didn’t matter, he still had one arm hand on her cheek.

“Me neither. I... Wow. Remind me to save the world more often.” They both looked at each other for a second, then since the situation wasn’t the best a feeling of awkwardness pulled them apart, with a wide smile Sam asked him to go and he floated towards the speeder and phased to the driver seat, he spared one last glance to Sam and then started the engine and flew towards the newly opened portal.

The moment he entered the Ghost Zone Danny noticed again how empty it was, he moved towards the nearest lair and checked if a ghost was there but found no one, he did this with the next two but had the same issue, at some point the place lairs were each further from the other if this continued he will have to use the ghost net and get them by force if they were invisible somewhere.

Feeling a bit anxious Danny was about to go straight to the Far Frozen to get Frosbite and his group when he noticed a group of ghosts in the gathered as if waiting for him, when getting nearer Danny could see Clockwork, Pandora, Frostbite, and Dora with a big group of their fellow ghosts. All of them were smiling so Danny felt a bit at ease at that.

“Hey, I thought I was going to have to go back with bad news,” He said smiling at each of his friends and to the groups behind them while getting out of the speeder.

“It’s okay Danny, we told you we were going to be here to help you,” said Clockwork who was accompanied by Dani, Amorpho, Wulf, and several ghosts he could remember helping at least once (most of the ghosts who had been with Freakshow were there too).

“I’m happy you all came here to help, though I hate to say it, there might not be enough to make it work,” said Danny worried.

“That’s not true,” said Dora caressing the golden necklace she was wearing “You just have to call them you know? Ask them to come and they’ll be here, right now they’re just scared” Dora had a mischievous glint in her eyes as if she knew something he didn’t.

Both Pandora and Frostbite nodded and smiled, this was getting weirder by the second.

“Come on Daniel, you did it, whether you acknowledge it or not, you can feel it, so why don’t you use that Ghostly Wail of yours and call the ghost to help save the world,” Clockwork said this making something similar to a vow, extending a hand to the Ghost Zone.

“But… I-I didn’t” he wanted to tell them he had not claimed anything, he had not suddenly acquired great powers to… wait, hadn’t he? He had just got his powers back a few days ago, had he done more than just received an attack that suddenly flipped the switch on for his powers again? Or had he done this himself?

At first, he had been convinced it was the attack the one that ‘reignited’ his ghostly core, and that had made his ghost powers active again, but maybe he was just trying to convince himself of this, he hadn’t even discussed this with Sam, Tucker or Jazz…

Hesitating for a minute Danny then turned around, facing away from the group of ghosts willing to help him; he took a deep breath and then using the same kind of energy he usually imprinted to his Ghostly Wail he shouted.

“CALLING ALL GHOSTS!” he stopped a moment, feeling like this was not working and maybe a bit ridiculous with his choice of words, but then he tried again “YOUR HELP IS NEEDED TO SAVE THE WORLD AND THE GHOST ZONE!” he rubbed at his left arm with his right hand feeling a bit self-conscious.

After a couple of seconds nothing happened, Danny felt sad and betrayed all at once, then Frostbite approached him and got the Infi-map from him. “A new portal will open right here any moment Great One”

Danny wanted to protest when some blast passed over his head, he only had a moment to turn around and see Skulker approaching gun in hand. True to his word a portal opened right next to him and Frostbite, at the same moment one of Skulker’s blasts collided with the speeder and the engine caught fire, launching it out of the portal.

“I warned you once, ghost brat” said Skulker coming to stand near Danny but stopping at the sight of the ghosts behind him.

“Wait let me explain. Our worlds are linked, if mine goes yours goes, too. I have a plan. Look, I know you hate my world and wouldn't lift a finger to help it, but I thought you might care about saving your own.”

“Also, he has the right to come and ask for your assistance, you can sense it don’t you Skulker?” said Dora stepping behind Danny “Cause if you don’t, they can probably tell you why they’re here” Suddenly other ghosts started showing up, from Ember to Undergrowth, all the ghosts Danny at some point had faced and others he had never seen were there, Danny couldn’t help but smile.

Unknown to them on the other side of the portal, the speeder flew through already in fire and kept going for a good distance before it crashed about a kilometer from the operations center. Valerie had been to one to spot it and everyone had been excited that Danny was coming back. Jack and Maddie Fenton, who had been considering the whole situation and how Phantom had a completely different attitude than Vlad were chatting about the next steps to follow once the situation was handled.

Seeing both Jazz and Sam rush towards the windows on the operations center made them worry, the girls tried to keep from being too loud and thought they were just panicking due to losing the last hope there was, but there was something else on their attitude.

“Danny. No.” Jazz was even trying to contain her sobs, both hands over her mouth and looking at the crashed speeder.

“He…he can't be.” Sam’s voice was only a whisper; her hand against the glass was trembling. The Fentons had years working around many nicknames, most of them were demeaning and some others were insulting, but if they were something for sure was that they were scientists, observing was the first step to making any hypothesis, they would usually look at the most relevant teenagers in their life first, and then the closest. Jazz was the only one there, usually, Danny would be the next but he wasn’t there, Sam seemed distressed so the only other teen they had to look at was Tucker.

Maddie was the first one to spot him, standing up from his chair in front of the primary station, looking also in the direction of the now burning speeder, the boy seemed sad and almost resigned, when he left his head drop and hit the table with a fist Jack and Maddie shared a look, something was happening there.

Before she could think it twice Maddie pulled out her cellphone and dialed Danny’s number, a moment later Tucker was lifting his head again to look at one of the screens in front of him and took a deep breath. “It's coming!”

The phone on Maddie’s hand was ringing, once, twice… How had she not made sure her son was there with them at this moment, they should have been together right now, if Phantom’s plan didn’t work at least they would… they should have… unless Danny was on that speeder too…

Jazz returned then and hugged her father, he wrapped his arms around her and then pulled Maddie against him, both of them sharing a look, Maddie just lowered the phone and hung up, shaking her head.

“Listen, I just want you all to know that…I love you. And I'm so proud of each and every one of you for trying your best” he said looking down at his wife and daughter. Jazz controlled herself for a second.

“We love you too, dad.” The younger redhead whipped the tears from her eyes and also hugged her mother. It was obvious they were missing someone but neither of them mentioned it.

“Look! The portal!” shouted Valerie’s father, who was sitting with his daughter right next to Tucker, again the Fentons couldn’t help but notice the three teenagers looking back with renewed hope.

Coming from the same spot that the speeder had flown through and led by Danny Phantom, more than a hundred ghosts flew towards the big antenna that was going to transfer the intangibility energy. At the same time reports of ghosts coming out from different portals around the world was also confirmed, at this everyone in the operations center started working at once, a moment later the first wave of energy started to be applied at the point of entry, as they had called the place where the disasteroid had already started to access the atmosphere, other ghosts were just transferring power to the cables until the cue was given.

Right at the antenna where the bigger and most powerful ghosts were already in place, Danny flew around it before taking his place on the side of the structure. “Let's just get this party started,” said Danny turning on again the transmitter he had been carrying with him, a loud cheer could be heard at the operations center when he spoke, “Tucker, how much longer?” he was transferring a good part of his own energy into the antenna.

Tucker smiled and pulled the microphone of his own transmitter in level to his mouth, he looked up to the screen and noticed the nods and thumbs up of the Grey’s “Now!” he commanded while pressing a button that lit with green light, Danny repeated the order on the other side, this also happened for the other stations that had been waiting for the cue, Tucker activating the button made it so the other teams around the earth gave the instruction.

The intangibility took less than they had been expecting, suddenly the horizon disappeared as did everything around them, they had been instructed by Phantom to keep calm even if they felt strange, they had to keep in mind the situation and stay aware of the information on their screens (that had been fully modified by the Fentons to keep visibility even when intangible).

The world itself had been given special instructions, as everything turned invisible and intangible they had to remain on the ground, if they were in the direct route of the disasteroid they were supposed to grab onto something and look up or close their eyes instead of looking down at the asteroid to avoid vertigo and other situations that could cause a massive panic attack, for animals a sedative had been provided, but while only domestic animals could take it, there was a big team of people looking at wildlife and taking security measures to prevent stampedes and other dangerous behaviors that would probably happen. People had been at some point worried about birds, but experts had pointed out that the situation itself would only happen at the entry point and that by the moment the earth was turned intangible the instincts of the birds will have already kicked in and made them hide.

It took about a minute and a half for the disasteroid to fully enter the atmosphere and then make its way through the planet, by then almost all ghosts were running out of energy, Danny had to remind himself to check. “Where's the asteroid?” he asked to the transmitter still on his ear.

If he had calculated the exact moment it was going to come on that side, he would have had it wrong; the feeling of vertigo couldn’t really be avoided when a huge asteroid phased through you, but a couple of seconds later Tucker’s “It’s gone” phrase had them relaxing, all the ghosts at the same time stopped the intangibility and the earth came back into view.

Danny had been ready to float down and approach his family, but the ghosts that were there quickly surrounded him. Danny looked at all of them, afraid they were going to attack him now, but he however was going to say something before they could. “I don't know what to say other than, thanks.” He said looking at all the ghosts around him.

Skulker floated towards him a little “Don't get too mushy on us ghost child. Remember, I'll never stop hunting you. And now that you've saved your world, you're a much more valuable prize.”

Danny was about to answer with something funny, but Clockwork, approached him and Danny had to hold back. “Now, Danny, I’m sure you’ll be able to have fun with everyone from now on, I know for sure that’s something that will not change soon” The child-like form of the ghost grinned at him.

“However, there’s something we must make official” This time Pandora approached him with a box in her hands “This box is not like mine, young man. It holds the two items you have already claimed as yours, it’s only fair that after such a feat you get to wield officially the title that you have for the Ghost Zone.”

Danny risked a glance to the operations center, and he was sure the cameras that had at some point been aiming at the antenna to broadcast live, were now all pointed towards them. Frostbite floated towards him, and Danny was pretty sure there was nothing he could do to stop them from doing this right now.

The old yeti lifted the cover of the box and took the crown of fire in his hands; he then approached and placed it over Danny’s head. With a sound of furious flames the crown shifted, Danny could feel the crown’s power settle and he was pretty sure that while it was still on fire, the crown was now clear like crystal ice, the fire was ghostly in nature but he had also felt it change from hot to cold. Then Frostbite did the same with the ring, placing it on Danny’s hand, it shifted just like the crown, the DP logo appearing over it, they both smiled when it was done.

“I now present you, Danny Phantom, the Ghost King!” Frostbite shouted his voice loud enough to be heard by all the ghosts around them and probably the people below. The multitude of ghosts around him made a vow at the same time.

A moment later all the ghosts were flying back through the portal, leaving Danny floating there, with the crown alight on his head and the ring heavy on his hand. He then looked at the operations center, he floated down to a point where people could see him, nodded and tilted his head to the right, and then turned invisible.

Inside the operations center, people were cheering and hugging, this plan had worked and they could live now to see another day. Jack and Maddie Fenton were doing just that, when they turned to Jazz, only to find that she was rushing down the stairs with Tucker and Sam.

The plan was to go back to the hangar where the speeder had been parked before the mission, to celebrate if everything worked, so when Danny had signaled to his right they just knew that plan was still standing. Danny landed just as the door opened to let Sam run into it, he had already made the crown and ring intangible so when Sam flung herself at him he was ready, but he hadn’t expected Tucker and Jazz to do the same though.

“Awesome,” said Sam at his left ear; Tucker chuckled on his right when he lost balance and the four of them fell.

“Nice job, little brother. Or should I say…hero.” Jazz was the first one to untangle from the mass of limbs the four of them were.

“It was crazy, dude!” Tucker then started to mention all the emotions they had gone through, with Jazz adding expressions, like ‘right?’, ‘wow, really’ and some ‘oh, yes it was’. However Danny was not really paying attention, he was too busy smiling at Sam, who was also smiling at him but with a totally obvious blush.

He then stood up, he brushed his suit to get rid of the dust and snow and then extended his hands to help Sam and Jazz get up, some wind passed around them and suddenly the door where they had come through hit the wall, making the group look back.

Much to their surprise Jack and Maddie were at the door, their eyes wide open while they tried to look less suspicious. “Ha, ha, yes Phantom, congratulations,” said Tucker in an awkward tone extending his hand to him. Danny took that as his cue and shook it, doing the same with Jazz and Sam.

“Y-yes, you also had a very important part in this, citizens” Danny tried to play it out too.

The Fentons just shared a look and entered the room, Jack making sure to close it behind him. “Is there anything you need?” Danny asked as his parents approached him.

“We wanted to congratulate you too,” said Jack smiling up at him.

“I wish I knew why you get yourself in such dangerous situations, it’s like a hobby or something?” said Maddie.

“Something like that” Danny said feeling a bit nervous. Maddie walked up to him and took his hand. “You know, we’re thinking about making some changes, this whole situation had us… unsure of what to do from now on, we might need to modify a lot of weapons and start working on other projects too.” She hadn’t let go of his hand and Danny found himself speechless.

“Yes, we actually want to start working with you, you know? Make a permanent truce” Jack said placing a hand on Maddie’s shoulder. Danny looked back to his friends for support, when they nodded his expression changed and he smiled at them, using his other hand he pressed it against his mother’s and squeezed lightly, phasing his hands and giving two steps back.

“I’m actually really happy about it and I’ll be thrilled to work with you, of course, but first, there’s something else you need to know.” While Danny spoke Sam and Tucker moved to his side and looked up at the Fentons with serious expressions, Jazz moved to stand a bit behind Danny with a similar expression. Jack and Maddie noticed the change with surprise, the group was solid and they will be standing next to Danny no matter what, of that, they were already sure.

“Okay,” said Maddie while nodding, for some reason she felt a bit intimidated by this display of support.

Danny didn’t need to look at the others to make the decision, the rings of light at his waist were the only warning before he transformed back to human in front of his parents. The couple’s expression of surprise was enough to make the group tense, but then Maddie looked up at Jack and then back at Danny. Maddie’s eyes filled with tears and she opened her arms to him.

Danny was still feeling unsure of this but stepped forward and allowed his mother to embrace him, his father’s big arms also surrounding him a second later. They didn’t make it uncomfortable and pulled back a moment later. “I don’t know yet what we’ve done to have you unable to trust us with this secret, but we’ll make it up to you darling,” said Maddie.

“If we learned something with Vlad’s situation and then with all this mess is that we have many things we need to change in order to really be the experts we claim to be in the ghosts field,” said his father.

“So we’re starting from zero, we still need to talk about a lot of things with you, my Danny,” she said with a sweet tone to it, Maddie then pulled him again in a tight hug before letting him go again.

About a week later back in Amity Park, Tucker marched on the podium of City Hall, behind him Jazz, Valerie, and her father, and some other people were also standing. He then took the microphone and started. “Citizens of Amity Park and of the world, as one the youngest member of the City Hall in Amity Park, at least until new elections get us a new Major, it's my great honor to present this commemorative statue honoring the hero who bravely saved us all. Danny Phantom. An exact duplicate of this statue stands proudly in the capital of every nation of the world. And each will stand for as long as we have our world, because thanks to Danny Phantom we still have one,” as he said that, he pulled at the curtain hiding the statue of Danny holding the planet in one hand and let it fall, revealing the figure to the people gathered in the place.

Jack and Maddie were also among the crowd, the two of them now wearing Danny’s logo as part of their ensemble “We need to talk about this with the school Jack, they may not know who he is but he can sure get some support from his professors”

“I have the feeling that that one teacher who invited us to that dance can be trusted Maddie, maybe we can speak with him,” said Jack looking at Mr. Lancer who was also part of the council helping Tucker in the City Hall.

“Where the heck are Danny and Sam?” Tucker asked Jazz as soon as the people there had moved and were now taking pictures with and to the statue.

“I don't know. He said he had some unfinished business to attend to.” She said shrugging but then she smiled and Tucker looked back at the statue

“So, no more beating around the bush, it’s finally official, uh?” When Jazz nodded Tucker could help but feel happy for them.

-

“I can't believe you didn't want to attend your own ceremony.” Sam was sitting under a tree looking at the sunset in the direction of the statue and the City Hall.

“Me? I can’t believe you wanted to attend that ceremony” Danny said beside her. They both laughed at that, and then Danny turned to her. “And well, you know me. I kinda like sitting on the sidelines sometimes.”

“And your folks are cool with knowing your secret identity?” asked Sam hugging her knees to her while looking at him.

“Yeah! The time for secrets is over, though it wasn’t an easy conversation, to be honest. The world is safe, time for new beginnings. My dad says he wants me to team up with him now, says I can be his _sidekick_.” Danny grinned as he knew Sam would found that very funny.

“You're a big star now, probably the biggest in the world.” Sam tilted her head, looking at the horizon.

“Yeah. It's weird, huh?” he imitated her pose, hugging his knees.

“You'll probably get pretty busy. With all that superhero thing and Ghost King duties.”

“What else is new?”

“And I probably won't see much of you anymore.”

“Oh, I wouldn't count on that. Sam, I could never have done any of this without you. And I don't care what's coming next I just hope that whatever it is, you're there to share it with me.” Giving her another content smile, he looked for something in his pocket, then he looked at her and showed her the ring, taking one of her hands he placed it on her finger, caressing her hand with his thumb for a second.

Sam, wasn’t a girl that cried, she could be upset, laughing until her belly ached and even sad, but she had never shed a tear in front of anyone for at least half her life now. However, at this moment Danny could see the unshed tears filling the rim of her eyes, she looked at the ring and had to use her other hand to clear her eyes.

“I will be. I just have to warn you, I'm no pushover you know. I still have my own way of doing things.” She said taking his other hand and smiling at him.

“That's what I'm counting on,” Danny said leaning forward and kissing her. They stayed there, under the tree until the sun had completely set. “What do you say, wanna go for a ride? See where the future takes us?”

“Why not? Cool statue. Personally, I would have made it out of recycled materials but, you know, that's just me.”

“You could always make one for the Ghost Zone…”

The End.

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is just a basic twist, the best is yet to come


End file.
